4,000 buses plying EDSA ‘colorums’

The government should revoke all the franchises of public utility buses (PUBs) and jeepneys to eradicate illegally operating vehicles and minimize traffic, an administration lawmaker said Tuesday.

Rep. Joselito Mendoza of Bulacan made the call under his House Resolution 165 which tasks the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to revoke all existing franchises of public utility buses and jeepneys and grant new franchises to legitimate operators as a consequence.

Mendoza cited that per the records of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), 46 percent of the 10,000 buses (4,600 buses) plying EDSA on an everyday basis are illegally operating or colorum.

Moreover, the Japan International Cooperation Agency pegs the number of colorum buses at 5,000 units based on the EDSA Bus Route Revalidation Strategy.

“In its [LTFRB] inability to identify colorum vehicles, it will be more practical for LTRFB to revoke all existing franchises of PUVs and instead grant new ones to legally operating vehicles,” Mendoza, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, said in his House Resolution.

Mendoza then invoked that the government has already exhausted all plans to ease the traffic jam such as the sticker system, Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Plan, random checking of Public Utility Vehicls, installation of yellow lines, Radio Frequency Identification, the number coding scheme—all to no avail.

“What exacerbates this problem is the lack of baseline data such as accurate listings and physical count of colorum buses and jeepneys which are much needed to implement effective management schemes,” Men-doza added.